I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to metallic engines and more specifically to electronic systems for detecting engine wear by collecting and analyzing metal chips therefrom.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Electronic engine wear detectors are well known in the prior art. These detectors may be divided into classes of capacitance type detectors, pressure type detectors and continuity type detectors. The capacitance type detectors sense the change in the dielectric constant between elements of a capacitor caused by the deposition of engine wear particles therebetween. These electronic systems are often very complicated and expensive to produce. The pressure type systems measure the flow pressure exerted by the flow of fluid over the filter and indicate when the filter becomes clogged. The continuity type detectors employ adjacent alternately polarized screen conductor elements which are shorted together by contact from metal particles representing engine wear.
The present invention is completely different from any of the above three (3) types of engine wear detectors in that it employs an inductance which changes value when the metal particles are deposited within the core of the inductance.